Roadmap for the soul - Judaism, the bible and the tabernacle

Genesis 3:3 "...you shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die."

As we have just seen, the word 'death', in biblical terms, means 'separation'.
So... to paraphrase the verse above, it is basically saying,
"If you reject My authority and boundaries, we'll end up separated."

And sure enough, when God came to the garden and found Adam and Eve wearing "coverings of leaves", it was obvious that they had come to recognize the truth of the above passage. They had clearly become aware of a sense of 'separation'.

But... Adam and Eve didn't necessarily understand the true nature or extent of the separation.

Thus, as our story continues, God is about to show both them and us the true extent of the 'separation' that has resulted from our choice. In order to demonstrate the true extent of the 'separation', God uses quite a vivid example... He gives Adam and Eve some new 'clothes' ---

Genesis 3:21 "...for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them."

Here, we see that God replaces Adam and Eve's "coverings of leaves" with new coverings made of "skin".
The obvious question is... Why?
What would this mean?

The answer lies in the fact that "skin" is something that would have had to come from a living creature...
The point being that some creature had to die in order for them to be clothed in it's skin.

By taking that animal's life, and covering them with its skin,
God was painting a vivid picture of what 'death' (or 'separation') really is...

In essence, God was saying, "THIS is how separated we now are from one another... THIS is the barrier that has resulted from your choice. THIS is what 'death' is". We are as separated from one another as you now are from this animal... This is what you have brought upon yourselves... And you cannot bridge the gap between us any more than you can bring this creature back to life."

The severity and permanence of this event would have been quite an eye-opener.

Now here is the real point ---

Before God replaced their coverings of leaves with these tunics of skin, Adam and Eve would probably have thought of their sin primarily in terms of the 'outward' action that they had committed. Such a view would inevitably lead to the conclusion that if they just didn't make any more mistakes, perhaps they could eventually get back on track and regain their 'unity', both with God, and with one another. Hey!... anybody can make a mistake, right?

Unfortunately, God has now shown that things are not that simple... With their new 'clothes', God has demonstrated that just as that first animal from which their clothes came was once 'alive', but is now 'dead' and beyond their reach, mankind's relationship with God, although once 'alive', is now 'dead' and beyond man's ability to repair.

In other words, God has clearly made the point that there is nothing that any of us can do to get 'back on track'. As our story will soon show, that's because the problem is more than a simple 'outward' action. The real problem is the 'inward' spirit.

In any case, the abrupt and permanent end of Adam and Eve's relationship with that first animal must have left quite a terrible and lasting impression of what 'death' (or 'separation') is. The death of that first animal would especially have been an occasion of great sadness for Adam... God originally created the various creatures with the intention that they be 'companions' for him. Adam was even described as being the one who named many of them, according to Genesis 2:19. The bible implies that prior to sin, man and animal had a higher degree of relationship than we have now. The change in man's relationship with animals is documented in Genesis 9:2.

It is worth pointing out that the death of that first animal, and the deaths of all the other 'sacrificial' animals since, must also have been an occasion of great sadness for God... God certainly takes no pleasure in the death of any of His creatures. The experience of death was made necessary by our choice, not His. God simply uses 'death' to give us the most vivid example of 'permanent separation' that He can, in the hope of educating and motivating us to reconsider our choice, before it's too late.

To this day, God continues to use 'death' to teach the same lesson ---

God knows that most of us will form emotional attachments to other living creatures during our lives... When those creatures die and are irretrievably separated from us, the sorrow and loss of relationship that we feel, is designed by God to give us a sense of what He feels regarding each and every one of us who have rejected Him. He does not want us to be separated from Him for eternity, and wants us to return now, while we still have the chance.

In summary, this chapter has shown that ---

While Adam and Eve originally made "coverings of leaves" (which represented 'guilt' & 'separation'),
God has now replaced those with "tunics of skin", in order to add & emphasize mankind's 'helplessness'.

Thus the 'coverings' can now be seen as representing three things overall ---

'guilt'
'separation' (or 'death')
and 'helplessness'

There is just one more point to make here, before we move on...

The death of this first animal is what established the basis for all the animal 'sacrifices' that are seen throughout the bible. If you've ever read the book of Leviticus, you will be familiar with the principle of 'animal sacrifice'... the early chapters are filled with it.

When you see animal sacrifice in the bible, it basically represents the same principles that were illustrated by God with the death of that very first animal... Animal sacrifice is essentially an acknowledgment that mankind is now 'guilty', 'separated', and 'helpless'.

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